Passport validity for entry into Thailand

Hi everyone, could someone clarify a doubt for me? Here's the thing: my passport expires on 25/09, and I want to go to Thailand from 03/3 to 30/3. So, on the day of departure, it will be 6 months and 22 days before the passport's expiry date.

...So, for entry into Thailand, will there be a problem? Apparently not, but I'm not sure. And for the return, since it will exceed the expiry date by 5 days, should I be careful with the layover outside Europe due to the 6-month passport validity rule? For safety, should I choose a European layover to avoid the 6-month passport issue?

I understood that what matters is that on the date of entry into Thailand, the passport must be valid for more than 6 months, and it will be exactly 6 months and 23 days.

However, for the return to France, I leave on 30/03, which is 5 months and 25 days (just 5 days short).

I heard that they don’t check it, and if I have a layover in Doha, for example, where the 6-month rule applies, as long as I stay in the transit area and don’t go through immigration, there shouldn’t be a problem either.

But I’m not sure about anything—even ChatGPT tells me there’s no issue...

Is there an expert on this topic on this forum? Thanks in advance!

Hello! First off, you're already an expert!!!! as you say. You’d have advised requesting passport renewal between 6 to 9 months before its expiry—that’s the rule.

For the return trip, a layover in any country isn’t subject to immigration, so no worries!

Your passport must be valid for 6 months after leaving Thai territory. You could run into problems if that’s not the case.

Thanks for your reply, but you didn’t tell me whether you think I’ll be allowed to board with Qatar Airways from Barcelona. By the way, I did apply to renew my passport on January 13th, and the town hall told me to expect a 4- to 6-week wait. Since I’m leaving on March 3rd, that’s 7 weeks—so it *should* be okay, but I’m still not sure who to believe. Everyone online has different opinions, expert or not. Officially, it’s the entry date that matters, but some say it’s the exit date. So who’s right?

The passport must be valid for 6 months after leaving Thai territory. You risk running into problems if that’s not the case.

French Embassy in Bangkok website:

Most countries in the Asia region require that the passport have at least six months of validity from the travel date.